Urban Village: Population, Community, and Family Structure in Germantown, Pennsylvania, 1683-1800

by Stephanie Grauman Wolf

Most studies of eighteenth-century community life in America have focused on New England, and in many respects the New England town has become a model for our understanding of communities throughout the United States during this period. In this study of a mid-Atlantic town, Stephanie Grauman Wolf describes a very different way of organizing society, indicating that the New England model may prove atypical. In addition, her analysis suggests the origins of twentieth-century social patterns in eighteenth-century life.



Germantown, Pennsylvania, was chosen for study because it was a small urban center characterized by an ethnically and religiously mixed population of high mobility. The author uses quantitative analysis and sample case study to examine all aspects of the community. She finds that heterogeneity and mobility had a marked effect on urban development--on landholding, occupation, life style, and related areas; community organization for the control of government and church affairs; and the structure and demographic development of family. Her work represents an important advance not only in our understanding of eighteenth-century American society, but also in the ways in which we investigate it.

374 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Ellen Church · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1976, exactly 50 years before this review, Stephanie Grauman Wolf's Urban Village is a fascinating read about Germantown, PA. Perhaps not of interest to the casual reader, to someone who has family in the area or lives in Germantown/Mt Airy it brings the old village to life. She covers the time period 1683-1800, which encompasses the time period that my German ancestors lived and worshipped in Germantown. Several Kress/Cress/Gress family members are name-checked in her book, and I just need to identify if they are related to my family members. She describes a trajectory for the typical German immigrant which mirrors that of my family. After a generation in Germantown, they moved further out from the city and settled in the collar counties.
Also fascinating is her description of the rapidly deteriorating records, such as for St. Michael's Evangelische Kirche. They were clearly rescued from decay, digitized, and are now searchable on Ancestry. The church building, built 1730, enlarged 1746, rebuilt 1819, and rebuilt again 1898 remains, as does the cemetery, but the congregation has also moved to the 'burbs.
I also appreciate her carefully documented notes and sources. I have many notes to myself for books and manuscripts to chase down the next time I happen to be in Philadelphia. This book was well worth the $$ spent on it on eBay, although I was able to find a copy in an academic library to look at first, before I invested in my own copy.